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Aerospatiale SA-2 Samson
The Aerospatiale SA-2 Samson is a Human light ducted-fan craft. The Samson is armed only with door guns and detachable rocket pods, and is the work-horses of RDA operations on Pandora. It is used to transport cargo and personnel to and from isolated sites. A hook point for sling load operations allows the Samson to carry extra or oversized cargo. History The Samson has been in use on Earth for decades. Its various trial runs in Antarctica, the Himalayas, and Honduras proved the aircraft could fly well in thin or thick atmospheres or in extreme temperatures with minimal maintenance. So when the RDA needed a reliable and sturdy aerial workhorse, they naturally chose the field-tested Samson and hardened its electrical systems to prepare it for the rigors of Pandora. The rear cargo doors are normally left open for flight operations on Pandora, resulting in the need for exopacks for any occupants in the cargo area. The cockpit is separately pressurized and the flight crew can operate without them even with the rest of the aircraft depressurized. Weaponry As a utility craft, the Samson's primary defense is its speed and maneuverability. The armaments usually seen on the SA-2 are a pair of door-mounted GAU-19/As or M60 machine guns and missile pods on pylons immediately aft of the cockpit. The craft is not heavily armored - rounds from an RDA sidearm are able to penetrate the hull and canopy. Drive system The Samson uses a pair of ducted fans with coaxial propellers, increasing the lift efficiency while granting excellent maneuverability. Both fans are capable of rotating independently backwards and forwards. Left and right movement is possible by changing the speed of either one of the fans, and the Samson moves forward by rotating its fans horizontaly. Notable Samsons *Samson 16 Trivia *The overall design used for the SA-2, akin to the Osprey tilt-rotor helicopter, has been quite popular in other media, a number of vehicles featured in various video games over the years have employed a similar design for example Command & Conquer's Orca bomber/fighter, Halo's AV-14 Hornet, Fallout's Virtibirds, Starcraft 2's Banshee, HK-Aerials in The Terminator and Terminator 2 (both written and directed by James Cameron), and the Colonial Marine Dropships in Aliens (also directed by James Cameron). * In real life, Aérospatiale was a French aeronautics company that was split apart and merged into various other companies between 1992 and 2000. The helicopter part combined with DASA to create Eurocopter. * The SA-2 features a fuselage that is reminiscent of those made by Eurocopter and Aérospatiale, including the EC-135 and EC-145 * Ducted fan VTOL aircraft have been flown since at least the 1960s. A notable example was the Bell X-22, a quad-ducted fan experimental aircraft built for the US military. It has no relation to the later V-22 Osprey tiltrotor. Though successful, no military aircraft since have used that technology. * The Samson fills the real-world military role of a medium multi-role utility helicopter such as the Bell UH-1 "Huey" and Sikorsky UH-60 Blackhawk. * There are several parallels to UH-1 "Huey", the most famous Vietnam-era helicopter, in the SA-2 Samson. Notably, there are skids rather than wheels of the UH-60, M60 machine guns guns are mounted in the doors rather than a dedicated window, reminiscent of the carried as door guns on those helicopters, even to the silhouette with the folded bipod at the muzzle of the gun. Another visual cue is the ability to mount two GAU-19As in a fixed, forward-firing position on stub arms near the cargo doors to act as a gunship, something the UH-1 could do as well. The rotor sounds is similiar to a four-bladed helicopter like the Blackhawk, as opposed to the distinctive sound of a two-bladed helicopter like the UH-1 Gallery File:Sampsons.png|Several Samsons, Scorpion gunships, and a Valkyrie arriving for the final battle File:Samson_loking_for_jake.jpg|Samson in Pandoran sunset File:Shootingchoppers.jpg|Trudy's Samson engaging in battle with Quaritch's Dragon gunship in an attempt to let Jake escape. File:Samson_over_water.jpg|Samson over water de:SA-2 Samson Category:Vehicles Category:Weapons